football history

On this day in 1894, Rangers beat Celtic 3-1 in the Scottish Cup final in what was the first Old Firm tie in the final of the competition.

The two Glasgow giants had met once in the league that season with Rangers emerging 5-0 winners and John Barker scoring a hat-trick. Barker struck again in the Cup final while Hugh McCreadie and John McPherson added two more to give Rangers a comfortable 3-1 victory over their rivals.

On this day in 1952, Stoke City goalkeeper Dennis Herod achieved one of the bravest yet bizarre feats in English football.

Stoke travelled to Villa Park to play Aston Villa in a league tie in front of 40,000 fans. The Potters were soon 2-0 up inside the first half an hour but Stoke goalkeeper Dennis Herod suffered an unjury resulting in a broken arm as Villa pulled one goal back right before the break.

But the foundation of Koln was successful after the merger of different clubs. In 1901, a group of young men dissatisfied with a gymnastics club called FC Borussia Koln decided to form a football club and named it Kolner BC.

On this day in 1955, former Manchester United and England star Duncan Edwards got himself into a bit of a pickle.

United had just been humiliated by rivals Manchester City who won 5-0 at Old Trafford in a First Division fixture. Edwards, on his way home after the game, was caught by the police for riding his bike without putting on the lights.

On this day in 1981, Uruguayan club Nacional beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 to lift the Intercontinental Cup.

Nacional, winners of the Copa Libertadores title after beating Brazilian club Internacional, were largely thought of as second favourites against Brian Clough’s Forest side who had just won two European Cups on the trot.

On this day in 1979, Trevor Francis became the first million-pound man in English football history when he moved from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest.

A prolific goal scorer, Francis began his professional career with City in 1971. A brief loan spell in the North American Soccer League saw him score 22 goals in 19 league matches for the Detroit Express.

On this day in 1970, George Best scored six times as Manchester United beat Northampton Town 8-2 in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Best had been suspended for four weeks for kicking the ball out of the referee’s hands and was very eager to return to action. Northampton keeper Kim Book had his work cut out as Best was in an unforgiving mood.

On this day in 1884, the inaugural British Home Championship kicked off in Belfast with Scotland achieving an emphatic 5-0 win over Ireland.

The 1880s saw international football being played on a regular basis. England and Scotland had already established a footballing rivalry since 1872 and were joined by Wales and Ireland in 1876 and 1882, respectively.

On this day in 1995, Manchester United played Crystal Palace away from home in a match that has since been immortalised for Eric Cantona’s incredible outburst.

Signed from Leeds United, Cantona was United’s talisman, their leader and their chief creative genius. The Frenchman’s arrival at Old Trafford kick started an era of unprecedented success for the Red Devils.

On this day in 2002, Jose Mourinho was announced as the manager of FC Porto.

The shrewd Portuguese tactician had previously managed Benfica and Uniao de Leiria but it was at Porto where he truly established himself as one of the best managers on the planet. His first match came against Maritimo on 26 January which he won 2-1, before guiding Porto from fifth to third on the table at the end of the season.

On this day in 1878, legendary Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman was born near Rotherham in Yorkshire.

A miner’s son, and one of 11 children, Chapman was a bright young lad who grew up to study mining engineering at the Sheffield Technical College. The Chapman family boasted many footballers with Herbert’s younger brother Harry, a Sheffield Wednesday legend having won two league titles and an FA Cup.

On this day in 1958, Northern Ireland beat Italy 2-1 in Belfast to qualify for their first ever FIFA World Cup.

Northern Ireland were paired with Italy and Portugal in what was a fiercely contested qualifying group. The Italians had beaten the Irish 1-0 in Rome the previous year and were scheduled to play them again in Belfast in December 1957.

On this day in 1980, Middlesbrough’s Ayresome Park ground suffered a tragedy as a portion of the stadium collapsed killing two fans.

Boro were entertaining Manchester United at home which ended in a 1-1 draw. Season ticket holders Norman and Irene Roxby were making their way out of the stadium upon the completion of the game when a pillar crumbled, crushing the pair with debris.

On this day in 2007, David Beckham announced that he would be signing a contract with Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy.

The former Manchester United superstar had fallen out of favour with Real Madrid boss Fabio Capello but showed a late resurgence in the second half of the season that helped Real win their first La Liga title in four years.

On this day in 1900, Serie A giants SS Lazio were formed by nine sports enthusiasts in Rome.

The nine youngsters used to spend their summers swimming and canoeing in the River Tiber before concentrating on track and field sports during the winters. On one such winter, Rome hosted a marathon run which required athletes to run under the patronage of a club or company.

On this day in 2011, Kenny Dalglish took charge of Liverpool for the second time in his career, replacing Roy Hodgson.

A club legend, Dalglish’s relationship with Liverpool stretches back to 1977 when he was signed by Bob Paisley from Celtic. The Scotsman spearheaded the Reds’ attack to achieve unprecedented success both domestically and in Europe.

On this day in 1963, the longest recorded round of the FA kicked off as freezing temperatures meant that only three out of the 32 Third Round ties could be played on the day with the last one being decided on 11 March.

It was the coldest winter to hit Britain since 1895 and took a severe toll on the sporting calendar.